Planting 1,071 trees during the ‘month of love’

on Thursday, 22 February 2018

JOHANNESBURG –February 2018 – This month, forty schools in the Pretoria area will receive gifts in the form of fruit and indigenous shade trees. Konica Minolta South Africa (KMSA), a division of Bidvest Office (Pty) Ltd, have donated a total of 1,071 trees to beneficiaries in Ga Rankuwa and Shoshanguve. Staff volunteers from KMSA’s Pretoria branch kicked off the tree plantings on the 15th February at Rantailane Secondary School in Ga Rankuwa, where 50 indigenous trees were planted to shade the playground.

KMSA representatives who attended the tree planting spoke of the importance of trees to our lives. Elizabeth Mbokane from KMSA was greeted with cheers from the high school children as she addressed the participants in Tswana. “This event is not only about today,” she said, “you need to take care of the trees going forward as they give us oxygen.”

These 1,071 trees will offset 395 tonnes of carbon dioxide in their lifetime, whilst providing shade, increasing biodiversity and providing access to fresh fruit for the local community. These gifts will keep on giving to the local community and the local environment for upward of 40 years.

“This substantial number of trees ensures the community will feel a considerable impact for years to come,” says Emily Jones, of Food & Trees for Africa, “Konica Minolta South Africa should be congratulated for their continued effort in greening South Africa.”

This tree planting forms part of KMSA’s commitment to plant 2,993 trees between January and June 2018 and brings the number of trees donated by KMSA to 37,796 since 2008, through the company’s ongoing commitment to ‘green’ South Africa.

ABOUT KONICA MINOLTA SOUTH AFRICA: A division of Bidvest Office (Pty) Ltd, the company focuses on complete business solutions, including production print solutions, digital presses, multifunctional products (MFPs), managed print services, vertical application solutions and related services and supplies. The company has also achieved carbon-neutral status for the third year in a row.